This past weekend my mom and I hit up Goodwill. Yup, it’s time for my weekly sift through all the goodies (some trash, some treasures, few worthy of my recession-stressed buck). I love thrift shopping with my mom cause #1 she is just as cheap as me #2 she remembers the discounted sale prices of normal store items to ensure that I get the best possible deal and #3 I learn something new each time – how to tell good glass from bad, how to see the rainbow in crystal, how to tell silver from silver plated from tin. The know-how from this woman is unreal.
This book was illustrated by this really fruity dude. Fruity and British. It was 1779, Big Willy (aka William Hooker) was good with plants – he was a botanist. And apparently, he was pretty good with his hands (what Hooker isn’t?!) so art was his way of documenting the ins and outs of fruits and nuts. Typically, I don’t like traditional still art because I am trapped somewhere between traditional, contemporary and modern…but anytime that a person can capture the likeness of a subject in a simple way – I am a fan. and this book was no exception.
Already I have tagged several of the pages and am ready to de-personalize the photo frames in our living room. It is a weird sense of relief knowing that if someone breaks into our house, that they won’t know what I look like when I kiss Jeremy. Or who was in our wedding party. Or what I looked like in all my diapered cuteness….so now the yucky pedophile thieves will get fruit instead. haha – a million points go to Big Willy. 
Isn’t it so cute? I think I am in love. And it is one piece of cheap art that is botanically correct while still having a bit of a modern, fresh look even though it is from two centuries ago!
Have you guys done some clippage of books to create art? What book was it? What did you do? Decoupage? Framing? Greeting card? Please do share!
Cool frames, where did you score those? Love the end result.
That looks great! I have used picture from a calendar before but never from a book.
A hooker will never look so good in a frame again. I don’t make art. Instead I casually drop my address into comments on your blog and email inbox and hope that someday you’ll just decide I need art and send me something crafty. In IKEA frames. Yep, that’s my strategy.
What a fabulous idea! Will begin scouring thrift stores for art books immediately.
You had me at “fruity hooker”.
I lurve it. Pottery Barn or Ballard would totally charge an arm and a leg for something like this!!
Hi Ya’ll –
Art books are definitely not easy to come by so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for textbooks, cookbooks, or even children’s books for some super illustrations and photography!
Seleta – the frame was bought at TJMaxx about three months ago for $3.99 If you find some more like it, definitely let me know…I love it!
Oh and gals, if you are anything like me (paranoid that you spent money on poo) make sure you found fabulousness by searching for comparable art on etsy or art.com!
XO – Katie
I love this. I am trying to find a way to really antique a print and put it on canvas. If anyone has any ideas, I would love it. I saw a canvas with a print and it had been “aged” but was several hundred dollars, which is crazy in my mind for a print!!
Have you thought of using a ‘tea dip’? You just crinkle up the print and then dip it in hot brewed tea till it looks old.
Any other suggestions?
xo – kb